Google may be forced to sell off Google Chrome, the world’s most popular internet browser that is home to 61% of all internet users.
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The possibility of Google having to sever one of the arms of its core business comes from people familiar with the matter who recently spoke to Bloomberg, which reports top antitrust officials are planning on asking the court on Wednesday for Google to be forced to sell off Chrome, to bring fairness back to the browser market that has been heavily leaning in Google’s favor for quite some time.
The changes to Google were proposed by the Department of Justice in a court filing last month and list other measures that would be a blow to Google’s business, such as the requirement for data licensing, transparency for advertisers to see where the ads they are paying for appear, and guardrails for consumers to protect them against Google hoarding user data.
As you can probably imagine, Google plans on appealing the ruling in an effort to prevent any major changes to its business, with the company’s vice president of regulatory affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, telling Bloomberg the DOJ “continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case.” She warned that “the government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed.“
Reports indicate the DOJ can seek an order requiring Chrome to be sold, but Bloomberg’s sources say that “option” will only be pursued if all other non-structural remediation tactics fail.